94

Stephen Tanzer

Vinous

Saturated medium ruby. Superripe aromas of cassis, blackberry, violet and roasted nuts; if some past vintages of this wine have been Burgundian in style, this is classic roasted Chateauneuf du Pape, but with more black than red fruits. Large-scaled, thick and explosive in the mouth, with lush flavors of black fruits, creme de framboise and minerals and firm underlying structure. Wonderfully sweet, dense and long on the aftertaste, with big but fine tannins.

100

Jeb Dunnuck

Robert Parker/Wine Advocate

More youthful and backwards, the 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de La Reine des Bois has been incredibly consistent for me and always comes in near the top of the scale. Black raspberry, blackberry, wood smoke, licorice, crushed rock-like minerality and smoked beef are just some of the nuances here, and it hits the palate with serious levels of fruit, thrilling structure and blockbuster length. It still needs another handful of years to hit full maturity, but its off-the-hook good today (assuming you’re not completely against tannin). As I wrote in the intro for this domaine last year, Domaine de la Mordoree is a reference point estate for Chateauneuf du Pape. Run by the talented brother duo of Fabrice and Christophe Delorme, with Christophe making the wines, they produce a relatively modern-styled Chateauneuf, as well as more than noteworthy Liracs and Tavels. For this tasting at the domaine (I was also able to taste through this full lineup again, from bottles in the U.S.), we started with the older vintages and worked toward the more current releases. In addition to their Reine des Bois cuvee, the Delorme brothers also release a special cuvee call the Cuvee de la Plume du Peintre. It’s made only in top vintages, and, as of today, it’s only been made in 2003 and 2005. There’s a scant 150 cases of each. Coming from a plot of 80-year-old vines located in the famed La Crau lieu-dit, the blend has changed between the two releases, as has the elevage.